84 Lumber Company Closes

It may seem like employees from 84 Lumber are heading out on a construction project. But actually, they are packing up for good, and some people in Fulton think it's an odd time for a lumber company to go out of business.

"The only thing I know is what was in the newspaper, and I didn't agree with that statement at all. That they were blaming it on the slow building industry in the Fulton area and it's just the opposite of that right now," Century 21 Owner David McDaniel says.

Employees from 84 Lumber Stores in the St. Louis area and workers from the corporate offices in Pittsburgh came to Fulton today to help close down the store. The employees and corporate workers would not comment on the store closing, but they did say that local employees were given the option to relocate. The company says lack of housing projects caused the store to close. But realtors don't understand.

"I've been a real-estate broker for 15 years and we have more housing starts and more housing in the construction now than we have the whole time I've been in business," McDaniel said.

Now Fulton needs to find a new company to fill the empty space. Associate Commissioner Doc Kritzer says that might not be an easy task.

"That's gonna be rough to fill. When Wal-Mart in Fulton built the Super Wal-Mart on the north end of town, the vacancy they left has been there for seven years," Kritzer says.

Competition from other lumber stores is another reason 84 is closing its business. A new Sutherland's Lumber Store is going to move into the old Wal-Mart store.